No matter what's going on in the markets, a balanced fund
can provide comfort to those unsure of market directions--or who
simply want somebody else to do the worrying for them.

Fidelity's Balanced Fund (FBALX) boasts a record that's
hard to top: For the year ending September 30, 2005, it ranked
eighth out of the 629 balanced funds Lipper tracks. It also earned
a five-star overall rating from Morningstar based on the fund's
three-, five- and 10-year performance records.

Ask Larry Rakers, the fund's lead portfolio manager since
early 2002, why the fund has performed so well, and he'll point
to research. "It's just decent stock selection. That's
not to my credit--[there is] a great research team at
Fidelity," he defers. Additionally, the fund holds plenty of
stocks--typically 400 to 500--and at least the same number of
bonds.

Rakers is a theme-oriented manager who likes to make "small
theme bets." At the end of October, infrastructure, oil and
medical stocks had caught his fancy. "I'm betting that the
world needs more stuff. Everybody knows oil and copper prices are
high, but what we need are more oil rigs and refineries."

Describing the fund as one for "hungry widows and orphans
who are risk-averse but need some income," Rakers points out
that the fund is not for those who want to get rich quick.

Dian Vujovich is an author, syndicated
columnist and publisher of fund-investing site www.fundfreebies.com.

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